The Gardeners' Apprentice Sometimes deadlines make you neurotic. Other times, they help you get focused. I am choosing the latter course, because I want a good-looking garden before Memorial Day. The problem—for the past week wet weather and at least one blast of high wind have made the garden soggy, riddled with opportunistic weeds and full, once again, … Read more
I love the moment in spring when all the flowering trees and shrubs seem to burst into simultaneous bloom. Depending on the weather, that mass flowering can last a few days or more than a week. It always ends in showers of petals that rival the snow flurries we had up until about three weeks … Read more
In my neighborhood we enjoyed winter right through April, followed by ten minutes of spring. Now we are in the process of jumping headfirst into summer. The last of the daffodils, having survived late snow, cold spring winds and all kinds of insults, hang their heads, defeated by a sudden blast of hot sticky air. … Read more
Last week I described the wonders of the Biltmore Estate gardens in Asheville, North Carolina. Both formal and naturalized areas are glorious, with beautifully cultivated and maintained landscapes full of specimen trees, shrubs, perennials and annuals. I am quite sure that the moment a petal drops in one of the formal areas; the petal is … Read more
I don’t like to abandon my home garden in spring, because there is far too much clean-up, cultivation and planning to do. But getting away is also a temptation, especially when the business of life threatens to spiral out of control and the spring weather is more wintery than vernal. In short, I just returned … Read more
